New English Translation
Leviticus 4:20
20He must do with the rest of the bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering; this is what he must do with it. So the priest will make atonement on their behalf and they will be forgiven.
Leviticus 4:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.
- New International Version (NIV)and do with this bull just as he did with the bull for the sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for the community, and they will be forgiven.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Thus shall he do with the bull. As he did with the bull of the sin offering, so shall he do with this. And the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And he shall do with the bull as he did with the bull as a sin offering; thus he shall do with it. So the priest shall make atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.
Context of Leviticus 4:20
18He must put some of the blood on the horns of the altar which is before the Lord in the Meeting Tent, and all the rest of the blood he must pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. 19“‘Then the priest must take all its fat and offer the fat up in smoke on the altar. He must do with the rest of the bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering; this is what he must do with it. So the priest will make atonement on their behalf and they will be forgiven. 21He must bring the rest of the bull outside the camp and burn it just as he burned the first bull – it is the sin offering of the assembly. 22“‘Whenever a leader, by straying unintentionally, sins and violates one of the commandments of the Lord his God which must not be violated, and he pleads guilty,
Read all of Leviticus 4Leviticus 4:20 word by word
וְעָשָׂ֣ה לַפָּ֔ר כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר עָשָׂה֙ לְפַ֣ר הַֽחַטָּ֔את כֵּ֖ן יַעֲשֶׂה־לּ֑וֹ וְכִפֶּ֧ר עֲלֵהֶ֛ם הַכֹּהֵ֖ן וְנִסְלַ֥ח לָהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he shall doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- with the bullockפַּרpar pâr · bullockH6499
- for a sin offeringחַטָּאתchaţţâ'âh chaţţâ'th · sin: sin offeringH2403
- with this: and the priestכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
- shall make an atonementכִּפֶּרkâphar · to atoneH3722
- for them, and it shall be forgivenסָלַחsâlach · to forgiveH5545
Cross-references for Leviticus 4:20
- Leviticus 4:3“‘If the high priest sins so that the people are guilty, on account of the sin he has committed he must present a flawless young bull to the Lord for a sin offering.
- Leviticus 4:26Then the priest must offer all of its fat up in smoke on the altar like the fat of the peace offering sacrifice. So the priest will make atonement on his behalf for his sin and he will be forgiven.
- Leviticus 1:4He must lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf.
- Leviticus 5:6and he must bring his penalty for guilt to the Lord for his sin that he has committed, a female from the flock, whether a female sheep or a female goat, for a sin offering. So the priest will make atonement on his behalf for his sin.
- Leviticus 6:7So the priest will make atonement on his behalf before the Lord and he will be forgiven for whatever he has done to become guilty.”
- Leviticus 12:8If she cannot afford a sheep, then she must take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and one for a sin offering, and the priest is to make atonement on her behalf, and she will be clean.’”
- Leviticus 14:18and the remainder of the olive oil that is in his hand the priest is to put on the head of the one being cleansed. So the priest is to make atonement for him before the Lord.
- Exodus 32:30The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a very serious sin, but now I will go up to the Lord – perhaps I can make atonement on behalf of your sin.”
- Numbers 15:25And the priest is to make atonement for the whole community of the Israelites, and they will be forgiven, because it was unintentional and they have brought their offering, an offering made by fire to the Lord, and their purification offering before the Lord, for their unintentional offense.
- Daniel 9:24“Seventy weeks have been determined concerning your people and your holy city to put an end to rebellion, to bring sin to completion, to atone for iniquity, to bring in perpetual righteousness, to seal up the prophetic vision, and to anoint a most holy place.
- Romans 5:11Not only this, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.
- Galatians 3:13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)
- Hebrews 1:3The Son is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word, and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
- Hebrews 2:17Therefore he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.
- Hebrews 9:14how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.
- Hebrews 10:10By his will we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Commentaries on Leviticus 4:20
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-21Verses 13-21 If the leaders of the people, through mistake, caused them to err, an offering must be brought, that wrath might not come upon the whole congregation. When sacrifices were offered, the persons, on whose behalf they were devoted, were to lay their hands on the heads of the victims, and to confess their sins. The elders were to do so, when the sacrifices were offered for the whole congregation. The load of sin was supposed then to be borne by…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20The phrase they will be forgiven often appears in passages about atonement (Leviticus 4:26, 31, 35; 5:10, 13, 16, 18; 6:7; 19:22; Numbers 15:25, 26, 28). God is willing to forgive a repentant person's sin and allow him or her to return to the community of faith.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-2113-21. if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance--In consequence of some culpable neglect or misapprehension of the law, the people might contract national guilt, and then national expiation was necessary. The same sacrifice was to be offered as in the former case, but with this difference in the ceremonial, that the elders or heads of the tribes, as representing the people and being the principal aggressors in misleading the congregation…Read the comment
Topics related to Leviticus 4:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Leviticus 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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